ETEKCITY Digital Multimeter MSR R500 Review

A Digital Multimeter that Every Homeowner, Electrician, and Electronics Engineer Should Own

By Mark J. Donovan

In this video Mark Donovan of HomeAdditionPlus.com reviews the MSR-R500 Digital Multimeter from ETEKCITY.com. He also shows you how to use a digital multimeter in several applications.

The digital multimeter is one of the most useful and and most versatile tools a homeowner should have in his or her tool box. A digital multimeter is useful for measuring DC and AC voltages, DC currents, and resistance. Some of those terms may sound esoteric to many homeowners. However, every home, as well as every life, depends upon them nearly in every moment of their day. Voltage, current and resistance are fundamental elements in providing electricity to your home, and every piece of electronics you own, including your own life. But I digress.

First, the MSR-R500 Digital Multimeter is a handheld tool that measures approximately 3 inches in width, 4 inches in length, and one inch in depth, and runs off of a 9V battery. The multimeter comes with two lead wires and the unit itself is encased in a rubber sleeve that helps it resist shock damage due to being dropped.

Like other digital multimeters, the MSR-R500 measures DC and AC voltages, DC currents, and resistance. It can measure DC and AC voltages up to 500 volts and has built in voltage protection up to 500V. Thus it can measure DC voltages from 200mV to 500V with +/-0.5% accuracy, and AC voltages, again up to 500V, with +/-1.2% accuracy.

The MSR-R500 can also measure DC currents from as low as uamps, up to 10Amps with resolution as good as 0.1uA in the 200uA range setting.

The MSR-R500 also has several resistance range settings, from 200 Ohms to 200 MegaOhms, with accuracy to +/-0.8%.

The MSR-R500 also has a few other useful features that are not always found on other types of multimeters. First it has a back-light button that enables you to see/use the display in dark areas. Just push on the blue button on the front of it and the back light display turns on. The MSR-R500 also has a Hold button, a yellow button on the front of the unit that when pressed holds the measurement until you clear it from the display by pushing the button a second time. The digital multimeter also has a convenient flip out stand to allow you to place the unit on a surface at a tilted angle.

The MSR-R500 also can act as a continuity checker and output a buzzing sound when the two leads detect a short condition. Also, the MSR-R500 can output a square wave at a 50Hz frequency which is very useful in debugging electronics, such as an amplifier circuit associated with a speaker system. In addition, the MSR-R500 can test diodes and transistors.